Movement is Inevitable
by InoSakuShine
Summary: This is a prolonged alternate ending for those of you disappointed with the lack of Zutara at the end of Sozin's comet! Picks up before the coronation, and afterwards everyone takes their individual paths; Toph hopes they once again intertwine. Zutara
1. Peace, and Paths

**The enraged A/N of a die hard Zutarian**:

If anyone else was EXTREMELY disappointed by the EPIC FAILURE OF PROPER COUPLES at the end of Sozin's comet, this one is for you. My alternate ending, because the show didn't have hundreds of Zutara moments just to build up to nothing!

Takes place after Fire Lord is defeated, etc, etc. Hope it helps ease your disappointment.

* * *

**Movement is Inevitable**

Despite being healed, the pain hadn't completely faded, not at all. The new Fire Lord winced as he struggled to pull on the right arm of his robes. He grunted and placed a bandaged hand on one side of his chest, where the sharp pain persisted, a constant reminder to how close to the brink of death he had come while facing his sister for the final time. But still, the fact that it _was_ the final time was reassuring. He was almost too distracted to hear the faint creek behind him as the door inched open.

"Hello?" someone called softly, and he turned his head to the source. "Zuko?" For some reason, relief fell over him like a blanket when he saw the familiar sight of Katara hovering outside the door.

"Come in," he said without hesitation. The door was pushed open and his golden brown eyes scanned the Water Tribe girl as she entered, looking somewhat timid. Then, a smile graced her lips as she confidently approached him.

"Wow, you look great," Katara commented, referring to his robes. Zuko smiled back.

"You do, too," he said out of courtesy, but meant it. She was dressed in Water Tribe robes, her hair done in twisting braids. The blue of her eyes matched the blue of her clothes, and there was something calming about it.

"Thanks." The girl inwardly scolded herself as she felt herself beginning to blush, hoping that it didn't show. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay before the coronation-I mean, your wound. I don't know if I healed it fully, I just hope-"

"Katara. I'm fine," he said. She blinked, and found herself drawn in by the softness of his voice. No, wait, it wasn't her. It was _him_ that was getting closer.

Her eyes widened as she saw the intensity of his own eyes, like fire, gazing back at her. "Thank you so much," he said sincerely. She didn't know why those words summoned shocking tears to her eyes, and only tried to hide them.

"Katara?" Zuko said, alarmed. He had no idea what he said to make her cry. She screwed her eyes shut and bowed her head, her looping braids framing her face.

"No, thank you! Y-you saved my life, and I can't believe I didn't trust you before. I'm sorry," the girl said. She felt and odd sensation and she felt the touch of Zuko's hand, lifting her chin up so that their eyes met.

"You saved my life before any of that happened. That time we were trapped in that cave... you helped me open my eyes. It was because you were the first person to trust me, even after my mistakes, that I care so much of what you think of me."

"You do...?"

The Fire Lord nodded once, and looked away. The look in her eyes was now letting insecurity creep into his own thoughts. He had admitted a whole lot to her, in the matter of minutes. "What do you think me, Katara?" he said before he could stop himself.

He felt a cool hand slide onto his face, the side with his scar. He shifted his glance back to Katara's eyes, afraid of what he would see.

"This is what I think of you," she said softly, and kissed him. Their lips touched for a brief moment, and Zuko slid his arm around her lower back, pulling her closer. It was the inevitable, a moment that he used to push to the back of his mind because he feared it. It was if they both of them knew that this was destiny; but neither were brave enough to claim it until now. He loved her, but the words never openly floated into his thoughts. He woudln't allow them to. She was in love with him, she knew, but it was complicated and she couldn't let herself think that way.

At last, the powerful sound of a distant gong pulled them apart. Katara sighed as she looked up; Zuko was genuinely smiling.

* * *

A day of peace that only hope could have predicted; he certainly never saw this coming, and berated himself for his pessimism. The warming scent of jade tea reached his nose as the steam for a dozen cups rose from the tray he was holding. Walking around the green themed tea shop, Zuko placed one cup before his Uncle Iroh, who accepted it with an affectionate smile.

It made him so happy to see his Uncle finally get what he wanted most; a cup of tea, some good friends to share it with, and a nephew that was not obsessed with taking a path of inevitable self destruction.

There were still more cups carefully balanced on his tray, so he moved foward to place one in front of Toph. Her dirt caked feet were propped up on the table, not leaving much room for tea. He set the cup cautiously to one side; she would be able to feel the vibrations, but he didn't want to burn her. He didn't ever want to burn her again.

As he approached Sokka and Suki, his eyes caught the mess of ink and paper that was Sokka's creation. the boy was still going at it, and barked at him to stay still so he could capture the moment.

"Come on, Zuko! I said don't move! Wait, it's missing something..." Zuko, wary of moving under Sokka's direction, craned his neck to glimpse the painting.

"Yeah, it's missing Katara," he said, casting Sokka a strange look; it was shocking that he could forget his own sister.

"You're totally right, where is Momo? How could I have forgotten!" Sokka exclaimed, grabbing Suki's wrist. Zuko set two cups of tea next to them.

"Where is Katara?" asked Aang with a frown. If it wasn't for the number of cups, Zuko would have forgotten he Avatar was there; he had been so quiet, and they were keen to let him rest and enjoy peace after such a battle. He was currently playing pi-sho with Uncle. "I should go look for her."

"Oh no, let Zuko do it. If you leave now and let me look at this board too long, you will surely lose," said Uncle, a mischievous eye on the pi-sho board. Zuko shrugged, and nodded. His eyes swept around the shop, noticing the back door was open. He exited that way, keeping an eyes out for the Water Tribe girl.

He didn't have to search to far; Katara was found with her back to him, long hair cascading down her back, free from it's usual braid. Light glared around her like a halo, she was watching the sun beam brightly by the mountains in front of her. She heard his footsteps, and turned her head.

"Can I join you? Zuko asked, and she nodded. "I have your tea." He joined her leaning against the rail and gazing at the sun. He set his tray down, and put a cup of tea in front of her.

"Thanks," she said, without tearing her eyes away from the scene.

"Why are you out here, when everyone else is inside?" inquired the fire bender. "You're missing your debut in your brother's portrait." It relieved him to see her smile briefly; he thought something was wrong.

"I don't know... it's kind of overwhelming. This is just great. Did you ever think it could turn out like this? I knew that Aang could bring back peace, but now it's all so real..." Katara shifted her eyes to the prince, still smiling.

"No," Zuko admitted. "I never thought it would turn out this way, and I'm mad at myself for it."

"Don't be! I didn't think it could all turn out to be _this_ peaceful. ...I didn't think you would ever be here, with all of us." Zuko raised his eyebrows slightly, but tried to mask his surprise. He wasn't sure it was a blow or not. He muttered 'yeah' under his breath, and looked at the ground.

"But I'm glad you are... I'm glad it turned out like this," Katara said hastily, watching his expression. "Sorry, I think that came out wrong. It's just unexpected-but I'm really happy-"

"I know. Me too." There was a pause, each wandering in their own thoughts. "It's not all over for me," Zuko said. Katara's blissful expression melted away at his confession, and mixture of alarm and concern replaced it.

"What do you mean?" she asked, fully facing him. Zuko sighed.

"I asked my father the other day, and he told me where to find my mother. She was banished a long time ago for protecting me... I have to go find her. It's just something I _have _to do." Katara was silent. Then,

"You're right. I know how you feel. I felt the same way when you told me where to find the man that killed my mother; not the revenge part, but, I just _had _to do it. And you helped me..."

"Katara... will you help me find her? I understand if you want to stay and-"

"I was hoping you would ask. Now it's my turn to help you," she said, looking directly into his eyes. His golden iris flashed, and narrowed.

"Thank you, Katara." She closed her eyes, and suddenly threw her arms around him. He felt a surge of heat blast through him, as if he were fire bending with his whole body. On impulse, and grabbed her shoulders and pried her off of him-just a few inches, so he had room to kiss her.

Once their lips touched-the fire died. Instead, something cool flooded through his veisn just from her touch. And then-

"Woah!" A small voice cried from the doorway. Hysterical giggling followed. The two broke apart hastily and looked at their intruder. It was Toph.

"Am I really seeing this?" she asked loudly, and stomped her feet a couple of times for emphasis. "I always knew something like this was going to happen!" Zuko dared to glance at Katara, whose face was frozen in shock. He himself probably had a severely embarrassed look on his face, and knew Toph would exploit it to it's full potential.

"Sorry, guys. I went to look for Sugar Queen here because Zuko was taking such a long time-I didn't know! Anyway, I'll just go back and tell everyone that-"

"_Aang_," Zuko heard Katara murmur under her breath.

"Wait!" he said, and dashed forward.

"I... Toph, I think it's time we took that field trip. I'm going to go-um, run an errand. Do you want to come?" He watched the small earth bender halt in the act of turning the corner, and whip her head towards him.

"Really?" she asked grinning from ear to ear. "I get to go on a field trip with Sparky! Yeah!" He couldn't tell if she was being characteristically sarcastic, but went with it anyway. He glanced over his shoulder at Katara before he took the girl out the side door, and into the street. They were going to have a talk.

* * *

Half the time he spent in silence walking with the girl was used to invent the errand they were supposedly on, but Toph didn't seem to mind. The girl looked like she was just happy to be walking beside him, finally getting her turn. She had no trouble breaking the ice.

"So, you and Katara," she said, grinning. He was glad that she couldn't she the red tint entering his face.

"Me-what about-what?" Zuko cursed himself for sounding like and idiot.

"Are you guys like boyfriend-girlfriend now? she asked airily.

"No!" he said. "I mean-well-it's complicated." With every word he sounded more and more defeated. People were starting to stare now, but he didn't care. He expected the people of the Fire Nation to at first frown when they saw their ruler walking leisurely with a girl from the Earth Kingdom. They would learn.

"Complicated how?" she asked, and frowned. He look down at her, and she turned her head slightly so he was more comfortable; talking a blind person when they were not facing you felt strange. Zuko hesitated to answer.

"There's Mai... And there's Aang. I know he likes her, and she does to. Like me, she feels guilty." Toph nodded empathetically.

"I see." Strangely, he felt himself being disappointed by her lack of words. He knew that she had a keen perception of things. After all, she was the one who thought he was being sincere when he first asked to join their group. Uncle also liked her, he knew that much. He found himself hungry for her point of view.

"What do you think?" he asked. Toph shrugged.

"I dunno," she said, and he scowled. "Well, Aang is young. I'm not saying he's immature, being the Avatar in all but he's still young. Maybe he's not mature enough to know what he really wants-romantically. To me it seems like Katara is some kind of prize for him. He doesn't understand that just because he does a lot of things for her, that doesn't mean someone has to love you. They just have to feel the same way mutually. It can strengthen your bond, but if you love someone it's because you love them, not necessary because they do a lot of things for you, I guess..."

"And I don't really know that girl Mai, but I think when you two hooked up, you weren't who you are now. You're different. So, yeah..."

For someone who 'didn't know', she knew a whole lot. Zuko took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Thank you for giving me your opinion. I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell Aang-"

"Aang already knows. Get a grip, Sparky, not about what happened. Everyone kind of knows you two like each other. It's been that way." Zuko's face fell, and he slapped a hand on his forehead. Everything was so unexpected, and his own clueless-ness irritated him.

Zuko and Toph entered the tea shop, and their presence wasn't very noticeable. There was already an intense discussion going on in the room. The topic was, 'What now? What are you going to do now?'

"I want to go back to the Southern Water Tribe," said Sokka. "With Dad. I want to make it strong again. My place it protecting it. After that, I want to go train with my master again. How about you, Suki?"

"Um, well..." The girl started, looking uncertain.

"You should come with us, Katara and me! And then when I go to train, you could go with the Kyoshi warriors."

"I'd love to visit!" the Suki said, thrilled. "And then I'll return to Kyoshi Island. It's my place."

"You're coming, Katara. Right?" All heads turned to the girl.

"I'd like to go back to the Water Tribe and spend a week with my family," Katara said. "And after that I'm coming back here, to the Fire Nation. I have something I want to do."

"Like what? Sokka burst out, bolting up in his seat and accidentally swatting a bottle of ink. The ink spilled onto the desk, where Momo was sitting, and slid beneath the creature's paws. Despite Sokka's shouts of warning, Momo ran across his portrait-staining it with paw prints, and took off flying.

"NO!" Sokka groaned, seizing his painting. "It's ruined, it's-" He took a closer look, studied it, and held it in the air- "A MASTERPIECE! I'm a _genius_!"

"Toph, what about you?" Katara asked, eagerly changing the subject. Toph resumed her usual seat, feet on the table. "Are you going back to your parents?"

"Well... I don't think so. I don't want to go back to that, not now." Everyone looked at her, confused. "After everything I've been through, I'm not ready to turn back into the helpless blind girl that's locked up in my father's palace. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I think I want to be a nomad or something. I want to stay here for a while, then maybe I'll travel. I can get a job, then-"

"You can work here," said Uncle Iroh unexpectedly. The old man looked delighted atthe prospect of having the Earth bender work daily at his shop. "I'll pay you fairly, and you can have free tea as long as you want!" Toph grinned.

Zuko watched the expression on his Uncle's face, and then her. He really took a liking to Toph, and Zuko could see why. Uncle Iroh deserved to have another companion near, and Toph was more than worthy.

"If you decide to stay in the Fire Nation for a while, you're welcome to stay in the palace for as long as you want," Zuko said with an air of finality. Everyone looked surprised by his declaration, particularly Sokka.

"Really?" asked Toph with a mixture of uncertainty and excitement. He nodded, and Uncle Iroh beamed (he also took advantage of Aang's surprise and switch around the pi-sho board). "I think I might take you up on that offer, Sparky."

After that, Aang confessed that he had no idea where he wanted to go, but the Earth Kingdom seemed like the right place. Zuko extended the same offer his way, but he politely declined for the time being. Aang was going to fly Suki, Sokka, Katara, and Hakoda to the South Pole.

Toph, for one, was satisfied. Although the war was over, things were still moving; she could still feel the vibrations stirring under her feet.

* * *

**The chapter is finished.** Hope you liked it so far, there's more to come. Here's a few things I discovered:

-Zuko is a really hard character to write for me. I hope you didn't find the Zutara too sappy or uncharacteristic, but at this point I can really see it happening! Just imagine it, Zuko isn't all that shy.

-I can't think of a good title. I might change it later, just a warning! If you have any ideas, tell me.


	2. Bitter Feelings All Around

**A/N of a happy author**: I'm so happy with the reviews I'm getting! Most of you agree with me, and I agree with you're opinions as well about Zutara. Seriously, I'm surprised a mass of angry Zutarians hasn't burned Brian and Myke's houses down yet! Just kidding, I don't want anything overly horrible to happen to them. Unless they don't learn the error of their Kataang ways.

Oh, I have to stop. I could just go on and on. _One more thing:_

_Lovin' _the reviews, but I see that so many of you just add this to your story alerts and don't review. If you read, you should really review. Feedback inspires me so much more, so please, review if you read this!

**I lied, more one important things for Zutara fanatics:**

Okay, so **Katara disappears in this chapter**. Just for this chapter, so calm down! **She'll be right back in the next chapter**.**_ And despite what it looks like, this is not Tuko_**, or whatever you call it (Toph x Zuko) I was just very inspired because I realized I really, really love Toph as a character, and there were some other things and questions that had to be cleared up before I moved on.

And that scene in Sozin's coment where Sokka helps Toph on the air warships, especially when they both fall and he scrambled to shield her from the debris falling on them as if she were the most precious thing is the world is SO COMPLETELY CUTE IT DESERVES A TRIBUTE. No, I'm not for Tokka but I love their friendship, and it was just so undeniably awesome. Okay, on with it:

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Two soldiers were stationed at the entrance of the palace's basement. The door that they guarded was heavily bolted shut, and even fire-resistant. As Zuko approached them, they bowed loyally.

_People of the Fire Nation are fiercely loyal, but it's hard to believe that loyalty shifted so willingly,_ thought Zuko, both eyes on the guards.

"How is my sister?" he asked one of the them. They straightened their backs and addressed him properly.

"Fire Lord Zuko, she is safely contained, but still unstable. We've brought her meals as you instructed us to, and reconstructed her new room to match her old bedroom. The first two meals were gave her through the slot in her door were thrown back at us. She's been accepting the rest."

"Thank you," said Zuko out of habit. It was a new habit he learned from his new circle of friends, one that uncharacteristically stuck. The soldiers bowed again, and stepped to the side. As Zuko stepped forward he produced an iron key from his pocket. He unlocked the steel door and pushed it open.

Leaving just a slit of the door open, he entered the faintly lit hall. Halfway down the hall the metal walls were replaced with walls of translucent but unbreakable glass, imported straight from the Earth Kingdom. Looking in, he could see Azula huddled on top of her bed, rocking back and forth with a distant look in her eye.

It would have been heart breaking if he didn't remember the countless times she tried to kill him and the fact that this was a luxury bed, no, luxury _suite_ and not the prison cell that she _so_ deserved. He tapped on the glass a few times and caught her attention. The former princess snapped her head in his direction, and slowly rose from her place on the bed. She half-crawled over to the window and attempted to maul him with fire.

The glass, she should have known by now, was flame resistant.

"Azula, I have to tell you something." he said loudly. All at once Azula seemed to regain her composure, and an actual smile twitched at the corner of her lips. She looked just as malicious behind the glass as she did face to face, Zuko thought, glad of the barrier between them.

"I'm going to find our mother. You know that Father banished her a long time ago, and I'm going to find her. I think that her disappearance is what made you this way, and if I bring her back I'm expecting change. Or else I'll be forced to send you to the Boiling Rock with the rest of the Fire Nation generals."

He studied her shocked expression when he mentioned their mother. That expression transformed into an insane bout of mirth, in which she started laughing maniacally and went back to her bed. She fell onto it in a similar way that Toph did and kept laughing until to Zuko, it sounded like she was crying. He shook his head, everything suddenly becoming too much. He exited the oppressing basement, locked the iron door, and stepped back into the light.

When he reached the main floor of the palace, someone unexpected was waiting for him.

Suddenly his breath caught in his throat and it felt like everything surrounding him turned icy, as he looked upon the cool, pale face of Mai.

"Mai-" he choked out, staring at her cold expression. Seeing him so tripped up, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, the cold glare melted away and found some amusement at seeing the face she missed so much.

"Zuko," she said softly and went to embrace him. They shared a brief hug, and then pulled apart. It was when she went to kiss him that things became hazy. She leaned in but he leaned back and gained distance from her. Still, her hand was in his.

"What's wrong?" she said, an anxious edge to her voice. "Don't tell me..."

Her hand was still in his.

"You really did break up with me. You don't love me anymore, do you?" The sheer hopelessness of her voice made him cringe.

"I do, but there's something you have to understand." The Fire Lord felt her shudder and try to pull away sharply from his grasp, but he held onto her hand firmly. She wrenched her hand back again, but to no avail.

"Let go of me!" Mai said indignantly, her normally emotionless voice heavy with a mixture of anger and hurt.

"When we went out, I wasn't the same person I am now. I'm different, and I was susceptible," he continued calmly.

"So it all meant _nothing_-" His body jerked every time she tried to twist her hand from his, but he wouldn't allow her to storm off.

"-And _thank you_. Thank you for helping me. I still love you, but I can't love you in the same way I did before." Once he said these words the usually stoic girl was defeated; she couldn't contain her tears, and they spilled onto her cheeks. Her body shook slightly and she felt repulsed and Zuko drew her to him and hugged her.

"I guess that's just how it goes sometimes, isn't it?" Mai said bitterly. He still had no intention of mentioning Katara; it would be homicide. Everything he had said to her was true-he still loved her, and a part of him wanted to be with her. It just wasn't the same anymore, and the piece of him renewed just had this _thing, _however reluctant it was, for a certain water bending girl.

"I'm sorry. I really am," he said sincerely. "Please still be my friend." She sighed, and he let go of her at last.

"Whatever," she said, her eyes restored to their usual state, devoid of emotion. To Zuko, it was a kind of breakthrough.

"Also, I wanted to ask you a favor." Mai gapped.

"You break up with me, then ask me for a favor?" she asked, disbelieving. He himself heard the insensitivity of this statement, and nodded.

"Sorry. You're right. I'll ask you some other time."

"What is it?" she snapped, now curious.

"Forget it. I said I'll ask you another time." She shrugged, and turned her back. He watched her leave without a goodbye. Somehow he was certain the goodbye wasn't necessary; she wouldn't be gone forever. It was just that, that part of his life was gone. It was important to remember his past, because it was what made him who he was now. He thanked her for that. But a relationship with Mai certainly wasn't what he needed now.

He didn't want to be a jerk and feel relieved now that he turned her down and it was finally taken care of, but he did.

* * *

As expected, he found Iroh and Toph out back. Toph had demolished the first half of the garden and was busy reconstructing a stone and earth porch complete with tea table and pai-sho board. Uncle was overlooking the whole thing-even giving some direction as he carried a hot kettle of tea while waiting for the tea table to be constructed.

Zuko figured that if he didn't want the entire palace reassembled, he better find a better way to entertain Toph next time. His arrival was barely noticed, so he took a seat at the new stone chair. Uncle spied him, and waved.

"Zuko! Don't you think this is much better than the original layout?" Iroh asked. Zuko could hardly answer-he felt his chair jerk and slide at an alarming speed to the other side of the garden-with him still on it.

"No, no, _that_ side," Iroh said. "Yeah, there we go. We're lucky to have someone so skilled staying here!"

"You know what, Sparky? I'm thinking of going to Omashu to help rebuild the city. You won't have to put up with me much longer." Done with the remodeling, her and Iroh seated themselves at the same table Zuko had been moved to; he still looked shaken up from the sudden movement.

"I think that would be a good idea. I'm not trying to get rid of you, you make a good pet for Uncle," Zuko retorted, feeding her back some of his own biting wit. "But you have a lot of skill. You could probably help out a lot there. And I'm going there soon, as well."

"What?" chorused both Uncle and the girl, turning their full attention to the Fire Lord. Iroh set his tea down, and stared at his nephew with interest. He was looking forward to explanation for this one.

"The other day I asked my father where my mother was. She was banished a long time ago for protecting me, and I need to find her." This surprised Uncle greatly, but at the same time he expected it.

"What did he say?" Iroh asked, while Toph looked on with an air of confusion.

"He said that when he banished her, she was free to go wherever she pleased. He said that when she left, they dropped in the middle of nowhere, and the closest place to nowhere was the Earth Kingdom. I'm going to search it up and down if I have to."

"Don't you think that when she hears you're the Fire Lord she'll come forward?" asked Toph, who never knew any of this about Zuko. The boy laced his fingers together in thought.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I'm still going to look when Aang returns with Katara. She's coming with me." Iroh's eyebrows shot up, and Toph set her tea cup down with a little more force than necessary.

"You asked Katara to go with you, and you didn't even think of asking me?" She said indignantly, and crossed her arms. Zuko held his hands up in defense, wary of the ground trembling beneath him.

"I was just going to after you said you wanted to go and help rebuild Omashu! I didn't know you plans, and I didn't want to get in the way of them." The fierceness in Toph's manner didn't die down when Zuko explained.

"A chance to finally have a proper field trip with you, Sparky? Come on."

"You know, Toph, when I went on these 'field trips' I was only accompanying other people, and helping them do what they needed to do. You don't have to help me, if you don't want to." With every word he became more cautious, as the little earth bender was becoming more and more frustrated.

"You just want to go alone with Katara. I wanted to help, Zuko, but I understand if that's what you want..." She said and shrugged. Something in her voice sounded egdy and bitter. She slipped off her chair, turning around.

"Aren't you going to finish your tea?" Iroh called calmly after her, but she retreated back into the palace, leaving behind a completely perplexed Zuko and Uncle.

"I don't get it," Zuko said to him helplessly. Iroh, on the other hand, looked as if he completely understand.

"Give her time to calm down, then you should go talk to her," he said expertly, looking around at the garden. "We can't afford to lose someone who can do the work of ten fire benders in ten minutes." Zuko glanced around, and thought the same thing.

_Some who can do the work of ten fire benders in ten minutes._

If there was one thing he learned from his father, it was that when he faced a burden, he didn't have to face it alone. Extra help could prove... well, helpful. And when he said extra, he meant it.


	3. Can't Admit Weakness

Sorry it took a little long to update, but I've been working on this a lot.

**A/N of an author who has a LOT to say:**

As I assured you, _there is no Toko_! Friendship, yes, but that's it. Toph doesn't even like him like that, and everything is explained in this chapter. As well as the return of ZUTARA, YAY!

About reviews: Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate them, but one thing I'm finding is that many of you don't comment on the story, just my point of view. It would be extra helpful if you could tell me what you thought of my story, criticism, etc. as well as how much Zutara kicks ass! I commend Frogger for one excellent review! (Positive or negative, I don't care!)

I didn't realize at first Iroh's tea shop was in Ba Sing Se, so the fact that I placed it in the Fire Nation is explained in this chapter.

I made up the name of the Fire Nation school, because I wasn't sure if it had one.

**BE READY FOR SOME ZUTARA-GOODNESS!**

With that being said, let us commence:

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The girl was perched on the ground by the window; it's not like she could see anything out of it, but she could feel the warm breeze drifting from the window and grazing her skin. She usually didn't like the window open; Toph was most comfortable with closure, and solid ground beneath her feet. It was natural to her, and no, she didn't expect everyone to understand that. She didn't stir even when she felt the vibrations approaching under her sensitive feet. Judging by the step she knew it was Zuko.

_Took you long enough,_ she thought sourly, but without sincerity. It was with bitter irony that she noted that she was actually _expecting _him to chase after her. The vibrations became stronger until she could sense them hovering outside her door. Without waiting for a knock, she said, "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Zuko entered the Fire Nation room. He looked around for a moment, then realized she was sitting on the floor beside the window. It took courage to approach her, and he got as far as the window.

"I don't know what I did to make you upset," he began, uncertain of himself. Toph didn't get up from the floor. She remained sitting, her knees drawn up to her chest and one arm hanging lazily over them.

"I'm not upset," she said in a stiff voice that said otherwise.

"You can tell me. Remember, this is supposed to be life-changing?" he said jestingly, but it didn't lighten her mood. She fixed him with a blank stare, and started playing with a loose thread on the rug. "What is it? Do you..."

The thought that entered his head was odd, but he thought he knew the answer.

"-like Aang, or something?" For the first time he saw emotion flood into the girl expression, and she hit the floor with a balled fist. A random wedge of earth rose from the ground where he was standing him, nearly knocking him off balance.

"NO!" she roared. "Are you serious?" Zuko held up his hands in defense, eyeing the earth that he stumbled off of.

"What other reason could there be? You seem mad because everyone's... leaving, or- I don't know. I just thought maybe-"

"You really lack good judgment of character," Toph told him, a dull blow to his ego.

_I guess,_ he thought grudgingly. He decided to meet her eye to eye, so to speak, and joined her on the floor. "Then what is it?" he repeated. "Is it me and Katara?"

"No, it's not that... specifically," Toph admitted with a sigh, and blew the bangs out of her eyes. "It's just that it seems like everyone is pairing off and moving away. I'm not interested in love or anything, I just liked the feeling of belonging, belonging to a group... And now that the war is over, and I'm happy it _is_, but it's like now there's no need to stay together. Everyone's going their separate ways and I guess I'm... going to miss it. Now it's just _me_. I'm used to being alone, but now that I've been in a group I didn't want to go back to... being alone."

When she finished, she was partly relieved to tell someone how she felt, and partly fearful of the silence that followed her explanation. Her bangs hung over her eyes like a protective veil as she hung her head, waiting for a response. It took Zuko several seconds to register this thoughts in the correct order, and prove to his friend that he wasn't so clueless.

"You feel like you're no longer needed," he said with certainty, and watched Toph's eyes widen. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then she returned to her normal blank expression. "And nothing's going to be the same. That everything that happened only happened because it needed to, because of the war. Right?"

"Nailed it, Sparky, is that what you wanted to hear?" she snapped suddenly, then became oddly silent as if she regretted the outburst. Zuko frowned, an odd sensation in his stomach.

"Toph... Movement is inevitable. Everyone is going to take different paths when it comes to the right time in their lives, but the group the war formed was destiny. Destiny will ensure these paths meet again, and do you really think everyone is just going to turn their backs and forget about everything? I know Sokka and Katara will keep in touch, so will Aang and everybody else. You're not unwanted, if you were I doubt you would be with all them in the first place. I think you just have to find you're own path now, and once everyone does that we'll be together again.

"... And problems are inevitable, too. Now that the war has ended everyone seems to think peace is eternal. It's not the end, there are still things to be dealt with. I have no doubt that there's going to be rebellions too, and when that happens I'm going to need your help and the others to keep peace. The Avatar's job isn't done yet. And I need your help _now_. Now that I know your plans, I would be grateful if you would accompany me and Katara to the Earth Kingdom to help find my mother. This is my path, and Destiny is already bringing some of us back together.

So... Was that good enough for you?"

Toph blinked.

"I didn't ask for a speech, you know," she mumbled, and steam nearly spouted from Zuko's ears. "But I _guess_ your right. Thanks." Without warning, she punched him in his arm hard enough to break a bone. The Fire Lord hissed sharply and put a hand on his shoulder, stiff from pain. If that's the way Toph showed affection, it must have been the equivalent to a huge hug and a complimentary kiss on the cheek

"I'm going outside," Toph said, got up, and left. On the way out, Zuko tripped over the piece of elevated earth she created before.

--

It was unexpected. When it wasn't on the schedule, having a giant flying bison land on your doorstep could be described as shocking. The guards were so utterly appalled that Katara and Aang were free to talk right past them, straight into the palace. Seriously, there was just no questioning a flying bison.

"Excuse me, who are-" the servant stationed in the front hall of the palace began, only to falter after glimpsing the blue arrow that streaked through the young boy's head, and bowed. "Please forgive me. Were you hear to see the Fire Lord?"

"Fire Lord? Oh-Zuko, haha. Right. Yeah, we're here to see him!" Aang said. The title of 'Fire Lord' seemed to _big and bad_ to Aang, he had a hard time fitting it to Zuko. Sure Zuko could be _'big and bad'_,but he was nothing as a follow up to Ozai. Ozai huffed and puffed and nearly blew the entire Earth Kingdom down, and the most Zuko did was play a little tag. It probably didn't seem like it at the time, but back then Zuko was the least of their worries.

"I'll notify him of your presence," the guard said and scrambled off. Katara frowned.

"We shouldn't be treated like _clients_," she said.

"Yeah. Do you think Toph is still here?" Aang asked, looking around as if she would jump out from around the corner and shout, 'SURPRISE!'

"Where else would she be?"

"Zuko's Uncle's Tea Shop?"

"That's true. I rather be there than here right now, this guy is taking forever." Aang nodded. Time ticked by slowly by as they waited, and waited, and waited. They had no idea why Zuko could be taking so long. A rational mind like Katara's dismissed the notion, but Aang's overactive imagination launched him into a playground of possibilities. Some included Azula-on-the-loose, a giant Momo, and a traveling circus. A cold voice cut through the one where he imagined Mai screaming at Zuko for leaving his sword laying around the palace, and as punishment she-

"You know what, Aang? Maybe Zuko isn't here. Maybe he went to Iroh's tea shop or something, we _are_ a day early."

"Let's go there, then!" The boy exclaimed, and was ready to race out the door. The water bender cast the palace one last look of concern before following the Avatar out the door.

About five minutes later, Zuko came running into the front hall, panting.

"Where are they?" he demanded of the guard, who scratched his head.

"I swear, Fire Lord! They were just here."

"But it's a day early of their scheduled arrival. If I knew they were coming today I would have postponed that meeting! I couldn't get out of it..."

_If Katara and Aang were really here, then where could they have gone? _Agitated that he had missed their arrival, he stormed out of the front doors and down the steps. Shooting a glance up into the sky, he could barely make out a speedy white cloud flying into the distance.

_Appa?_ he thought, and realized it was heading in the direction of Uncle's tea shop. _It has to be._ He summoned a servant to call for Toph, only to have the servant inform him that Toph was working at the shop at this hour. Cursing to himself, he prepared to make his appearance.

-

As a surprise, Zuko gave his Uncle an additional tea shop in the Fire Nation, just like the one he had running in Ba Sing Se. He was surprised with everything Iroh had done with it-making it an exact carbon copy of the one he already owned. Everything was the same, even down to the green and brown Earth Kingdom colors that remained unpopular among the Fire Nation's people.

With one arm Zuko thrust open the door, sending the bells hanging above in a fury of tinkles. It was the least they could do to pronounce the arrival of _the _Fire Lord. Unfortunately, only a few people occupied the shop at this time, the same people who would acknowledge him as no more than, 'Zuko, Nephew, or Sparky.' And on occasions 'Zuzu.'

"I knew you were here!" Zuko said, a little more accusingly than he had intended. "Did you _leave _the palace?"

Aang, Katara, Iroh and Toph sat leisurely at a table, enjoying a few cups of aromatic tea. Neither one of them could wipe the blank look off their faces, totally caught off guard by Zuko's fiery appearance. Aang blinked.

"Sorry Zuko, you were taking a long time," he said to the angry Fire Lord. Zuko relaxed, realizing that they had been there, as the servant said, and they had left simply because he was taking so long. He had no idea what other possibilities were in his head, but somehow confirming the truth erased this foreign anxiety. "Was Mai really upset?"

"Oh. Wait, what are you talking about? I'm sorry, I didn't know you were coming. I had a meeting," he explained, and crossed the room to join them. Instead of taking a chair, he stood over them. "Why did you come early?" For the first time his eyes rested on Katara, who was beaming at him and pleased with the whole reunion.

"No particular reason. There was nothing to do so we thought we would get a head start."

"Oh," Zuko muttered, finally accepting the chair his hand drew out for him. "How was it?"

"It was great!" exclaimed Aang in pure, childish excitement. "We went penguin sledding!" He didn't even flinch under the strange stares.

Katara decided to give a more detailed account of their journey. "It was nice, I finally got to visit my grandmother, and the rest of the tribe. All the Water Tribe men moved back into the village, and now it's bigger than it's ever been! It's really starting to grow. Sokka and Suki are still down there, helping."

"That's great," Zuko replied. There was a loud _'plunk' _as Toph drained the last drop of her tea, and set her cup on the table. Uncle raised his eyebrows.

"I wish you were a regular customer," Iroh said, eyeing the empty cup. "That was your fourth cup." Toph shrugged and grinned.

"You keep offering, and there's nothing else to do. We've been sitting her for an hour, or more." Beaming, Uncle got to his feet.

"I was hoping you would say you were bored!"

"I didn't exactly say-"

"I have a project for us. The brass fountain need remodeling, and the side stairs are cracked, and-" Iroh went on to explain his elaborate plans to attack and conquer every last flaw of the palace, leading his army of one. With a smile, Toph stood up.

"Lead the way, general!" she said with a happy sense of resign. The girl seemed like she was in a good mood, Zuko thought with satisfaction.

"I thought we were leaving for the Earth Kingdom," said Aang, glancing inquiringly at Zuko.

"No," Katara interjected, "We came a day early, remember? We leave tomorrow. Besides, Zuko probably has meetings and stuff we interrupted today. Sorry about that." Aang lept to his feet, and Momo, who had recently been hiding, up until Aang's sudden outburst of excitement, scurried onto his head.

"Great! A free day! I'll be back, I'm going to fly to Zing Ze's Academy and see if they have a dance program, now!" Without another word, he dashed out the door. Zuko didn't really know what to say.

"It was a Fire Nation school Aang went to in disguise and taught everyone to dance," Katara explained hastily, a little surprised that Aang would just rush off like that.

"Oh." Uncle and Toph prepared to leave, and Katara and Zuko rose to join them. Iroh became oddly stiff when he realized the two planned on following them.

"You know," the old man said, "there's not much you two can do to help. Why don't you go out to eat?" Zuko halted and stared suspiciously at his Uncle, who had never before refused help like this. Katara too looked puzzled, but considered the suggestion.

"Are you sure?" she asked politely. "If you're sure I can go to the market, I've been itching for something... _not _frozen." Toph made a 'yuck' sound and shot her a look of sympathy.

"No, I don't mean to the market. Enjoy yourself, go _out_! In fact, I know a really great place not too far from here," Iroh negotiated in a diplomatic tone. "How about it?" He watched his nephew shrug and turn to the water bending girl.

"Sounds good to me," he said indifferently, encouraged by Katara's agreement. "What place is this?"

"It's on the corner of _Ozai _and _General street_, you know where that is." He bent down to write the address on a piece of paper.

_My next priority as Fire Lord will be to change the street names, _Zuko thought. When Iroh finished, he took the slip of paper from him, scanning the familiar address.

"See you later," Iroh said kindly. "Take your time." Toph followed him out the door, adding,

"_Have fun_." Katara smiled and moved out the door, graciously flipping the sign to say _'closed_.' She turned to him, blue eyes shining.

"So... Where is this place?"

The two made an odd combination, a polar pair walking down the street. Side-by-side like salt and pepper shakers, the blue and red combo finally stopped in front of a brick cafe, with wide windows decorated with pink and white hearts. Hanging from the roof's ledge were were twisting wind charms that made pretty sounds when the wind blew them.

"This... this is it," Zuko said uncertainly, glancing from the paper Uncle gave him, to the little building, to the paper, and back to the building.

_Uncle, what were you thinking?_

"It looks... nice," he heard Katara say. She looked down at her attire, hoping that the inside wasn't as fancy and cute as the outside looked. She definitely wasn't dressed for this. While Zuko could get by anywhere with wearing his Fire Lord robes, she was still wearing the same water tribe outfit whose blue she knew would clash so violently with the pink and red belly of the cafe. Her hair was twisted in it's regular braid, with two looping ones framing her face. Shrugging, she glanced at Zuko. There was some kind of twisted expression dawning on his face, apprehension and hesitance plaguing his otherwise handsome features.

"This is it," he stated again, but the words for more intended for his own ears than hers.

"Okay," she said brightly, and strode forward. A flurry of bells greeted them, similar to the ones in Iroh's tea shop when they opened the door. It was even worse than Zuko thought.

There were about seven or so round tables, covered in pink tablecloths. Cutesy couples dotted the cafe, sitting across from each other at these pink tables, some interlocked in a passionate kiss. Right away, a waitress scrambled to greet and seat them.

"This way, mister-_Fire Lord,"_ she said, looking suddenly nervous once she realized who he was. "It would be my pleasure." She lead them to a round table with two chairs.

Zuko slid around the table, and dutifully pulled a chair out for Katara. The back of his mind screamed at him, that this little act of courtesy was silly. If Katara could go head to head with his sister Azula, she was perfectly capable of pulling out a chair for herself. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her eyes locked with his for a fraction of a second, and she looked down on the verge of laughter. Mildly embarrassed, the boy retreated back to the seat across from her.

"Uncle says it's polite," he muttered under his breath.

"That was sweet," Katara said, still looking like she was about to giggle. Zuko smirked despite himself.

"Well Uncle also said to come _here_," he said, shaking his head. _What_ was Uncle thinking? A shadow fell over the table as the waitress stood readily over them, clutching a small notepad and quill.

"What will you have to drink?" she asked.

"Just water, please," Katara said. Apparently a week of floating on a glacier in the South Pole didn't do it for her.

"Same," mimicked Zuko, and she handed them two menus. Katara shifted as she read the menu.

_I wish this was as casual as Iroh's tea shop,_ she silently wished. _Poor Zuko. He looks so uncomfortable. He's probably thinking of Mai-_ she stopped herself mid-thought. She didn't need thoughts like that in her mind right now. The young waitress returned with some pink note cards in her hand. They both curiously watched as she reached down and fed them into a clamp that extended off a metal stand in the center of the table.

"These are topic starters," she said brightly. "You don't have to, but it helps to use them while you're waiting. You must be a new couple, huh?" She turned and skipped off before, leaving their high flying protest to fall on deaf ears. Sighing in defeat, Zuko irritably plucked one of the pink note cards off the contraption.

"What does it say?" Katara asked, leaning forward. He brought it up to his eyes and read it out loud as he went along.

"'_Reminisce about the day you... first met?'"_ he read out loud. Furrowing his brow, he tossed it back towards it's metal stand. "That's stupid." That was when the realization hit him in the face. _Uncle is trying to play matchmaker..._

"Yeah, this place is kind of like that," Katara said, trying her best to ease the awkwardness of the situation. And this was quite a _situation_. She had to wonder about Iroh, throwing the two _friends _into a place that was clearly meant for couples. It took a calm and intelligent mind like Katara's to make them fit in here, without all the mushy stuff. "When was the first time we met, anyway?" She paused, sifting through her pile of memories to find the first time her blue eyes met the golden ones staring back at her now.

Suddenly _very _uncomfortable, Zuko fidgeted. Comprehension dawned on Katara's smooth, tan face.

"Oh, I remember. It was when you crashed your ship through the walls of the Southern Water Tribe. You came out and were looking for Aang. The first time I really saw you was when you fire bended over my..." She stopped, and he looked down.

"I know," he said, staring at the table. Although she was the victim at that time, a wave of guilt surged through her chest.

"Listen Zuko, I'm sorry-" the waitress came back and set a glass of water down at the table. She left.

It was _one_ glass of water, with_ two _straws. Both stared at it.

"Let's go," Katara said, pushing her chair back. Zuko was one step ahead of her. Before they left, Katara snatched the water, and the fled out the door.

The dark blanket of the evening was settling comfortably on the village, bright lights illuminating every shop window to guide them. Because they didn't want Iroh to think they just ditched his 'favorite' cafe, which they in fact did, they took their time walking back to the palace.

As time passed the darkness was intent on weighing in, suppressing every light that could show them the path that guided their feet. Zuko decided to grace the scene with his presence, and pulled a trick had done once before for a sweet girl in Ba Sing Se. Breathing heavily out his nose, every lantern in the square was revived to it's fiery life, flaring violently in defiance of the dark. Katara stopped, stunned by the breathtaking scene. The lanterns' light revealed a quiet fountain in it's center, benches surrounding it.

"Did you just do that?" Katara asked, amazed. Zuko stopped beside her, and nodded. Smiling, her feet moved to the head of the fountain. He watched her in curiosity, watched her arms position in front of her, and her hands fluidly bend the water in the fountain. She moved the liquid first in a sphere, and then made it spiral around the fountain. He lit two more lanterns that were a part of the fountain to see more clearly, and then at once he fountain burst into life; it ran all on it's own, it's mouth spitting water into it's many cliffs, feeding it all to it's bottom so the process could repeat itself. Katara looked to him for approval.

"That looks amazing," he said. He couldn't help but admire the way the luminescent light of the lanterns reflected in her eyes, the way the orange flames dancing in the blue orbs that lit up to a strange, cloudy color. She backed up a few steps and fell onto a bench that overlooked it all.

She heard some heavy footsteps and felt pleased at Zuko sat next to her, a comfortable distance apart. Her eyes never shifted from the glistening water of the fountain, made beautiful by the firelight of the tall lanterns guarding it. The scenery was breathtaking enough to make their silence comfortable, but after a while Katara was comfortable enough to break it.

"How was your first week as Fire Lord?" she asked, her voice a trickle among the the other beautiful sounds of the night. Zuko was caught off guard at her sudden speech. He had to think of an appropriate answer.

"Shaky," he admitted. "A lot of meetings, problems."

"Even on your first day?"

"My first day was the worst day," he said seriously, eyes fluttering down as he was reabsorbed into the memories of his first struggles. It was true that he had no meetings that day, but there was too much personal drama for his liking. There was Toph, and even Azula, but that was only a side dish compared to breaking up with... _Mai_... He looked up quickly, attempting to clear his head of the thought. He was surprised to see a look of deep concern etched on Katara's face, a question forming on her lips.

Before she could ask the question, he had the answer ready.

"I... I visited Azula." Already a look of maternal sympathy settled on her smooth, tan face. Although he was affected by her concern, he didn't like pity or sympathy. "And I did something else I wanted you to know about..." The looked transformed instantly.

_It must be about his mother, _Katara thought immediately, seriousness invading her eyes. It _had_ to be, she could read him plainly as he shifted uncomfortably, his eyes absorbed with thought.

"I broke up with Mai," he said quietly, avoiding her blazing eyes. His words drifted lazily across the gap between them, and into her ears. The impact was stunning.

"You... did?" she asked quietly, wondering exactly what it meant. A flood of connected images flashed through her mind like an old movie film; it was all the times they shared together. When he took a lightening bolt for her, when she healed him, the first kiss, the second. He lowered his head, nodding ever so lightly.

"I... I didn't break up with Aang. But we're not really together, he just thinks we are. And maybe yeah, I didn't exactly turn down his hopes, but how could I?" she asked desperately. Zuko sighed, placing both his palms on the bench on either side and stared up into the star lit sky.

"It's hard. You don't want to tell him, it's so hard. You feel like your heart is breaking right along with theirs." Katara's eyes wavered, but he didn't see. He felt a warm hand slide on his own.

"I know. I love Aang, but in a different way. He deserves to be loved... but by someone who's just like him. He deserves so much, and I know he's matured. I'll give him that, but at heart he's still a boy. He wants to play. I'm just not right for him. I need..."

Zuko shifted his gaze to her, a smirk playing on his lips. "A man?" he said mockingly. Katara smirked back.

"Well-not exactly-_you know what I mean. _Yeah, you know what? I do. A man. And what do you think _you_ are?" Firelight danced in her eyes, like a water bending spirit.

"A man," he said, and leaned forward. He was so surprised by how quickly her lips touched his that his eyes were still open. He closed them quickly. She was leaning forward as they kissed, and he hooked and arm around her shoulder. Once the kiss ended and they pulled apart, Zuko fixed his eyes hastily in front of him. A blush glowed pink-orange in the light on Katara's cheeks. They pretended it didn't happen.

The only evidence of any interaction was Zuko's arm, which still lay leisurely around her shoulders as they looked in opposite directions.

-

Two harsh knocks signaled the warning as the door opened without waiting for an answer. Iroh didn't mind, he was just leaning out on his balcony rail, admiring all the work he and Toph had done to beautify the palace. He could sense the very person he was expecting watch his back.

"Hello, Zuko. How was your date?" He didn't need to turn around to see the flushed, angry expression in his nephew's face. His protests were cut short by Iroh's wise voice- "If you kissed at the end, it was a date. Friends don't kiss."

Zuko either acknowledged or ignored this, he couldn't tell which.

"Why did you send us to that place? It was horrible and embarrassing," he said instead, striding to the other end of the room and sitting down. He already knew the answer, and Uncle knew he knew, so he didn't say anything.

"Come look at this," Iroh said, sweeping a hand over the landscape. "That earth bending gem is my greatest partner yet." Getting his feet, Zuko joined him in leaning against the balcony and scanned Toph and Iroh's handiwork. He probably wouldn't have recognized it if Uncle didn't tell him it was the same landscape the palace had beforehand. It truly did look amazing, a vast improvement. His father never did care for the beauty of scenery or earth.

Then his mind wandered to other things, Uncle's so called 'date.' Yes, they did kiss, although neither acted like it had happened. This is the part that perplexed him. _Why_? _Why_ didn't they acknowledge that they... they_... liked_ each other? It was more than the two others holding them back. Mai had been dealt with as gently as he could, and there wasn't exactly a commitment between Katara and Aang... So why did they have such a hard time admitting they like each other?

_He _wouldn't even fully admit it. From time to time, like now, he thought to himself, _'Why is _she_ on my mind_?' After much thinking, he came up with some sort of analogy. It was nothing nearly as worthy as one of Uncle's philosophies, but nonetheless, he thought it was true.

When friends with someone, it is easy to say that you love them because you know there's no commitment, nothing overtly serious besides that you are true friends. There's no fear of being hurt, no insecurities. When you... fall for this person, it's the hardest thing in the world to admit you like them. The floodgates to self-consciousness, insecurity, and caution are open and to admit you like them is to admit weakness.

He didn't exactly voice this to himself-he wouldn't admit it. But this was the meaning to the underlying tone of his thoughts.

...Not that he would admit it. Because it was time to clear his mind. The journey began tomorrow.

* * *

_**End of Chapter.**_

I haven't even started the next one yet, so yeah. You'll have to wait a little while. Hope you liked it, lemme know what you thought of the Zutara moments especially.

Hope this wasn't too long.


	4. Bump in the Night

**A/N of a cautious Author: **This chappie didn't take as long as I thought it would...

I hope I didn't scare any of you away with my last comment about reviews. I noticed that I got considerably less reviews, but a lot more story alerts and such. Sorry If I came out harsh, I love reviews, no matter what kind! I swear! If you read the story, please review. Whatever your style. But a few people I have to point out-

_Dwellin-thanks for the review, I think I took your suggestion._

_Frogger-I just totally love you. You reviews are THE best._

**Also: This chapter is a bit filler-ish.** This is because I changed direction of what I was just previously writing (which also unitentionally made the next chapter harder for me to write as well.) I was going in one direction, but someone made a suggestion to me about a scene I really wanted to include so instead of what I had originally planned, I took a little more time to include this scene. I hope it wasn't a mistake, but it was worth the try. I think it will work out.

Annnddd...Sorry if it seems like I throw Toph in a lot, I just love her and her reactions to everything! You'll hear from her quite often.

Alright, I think I'm done.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"Do we have everything?" A voice rang out from above. Katara lifted her head to the sky, identifying the two bare feet that hung over the furry white edges of Appa's back. The soles of the feet were smeared with dirt.

"I think so, Toph," she replied. "Heads up!" She hoisted the final pack into the air, blindly caught by Toph. She heaved it over her shoulder, adding it to the pile of belongings in disarray. Katara turned away, racking her brain for anything she might have missed. When Aang came around the bison grinning like a child, she failed to notice his presence.

"_Packs... Water... Food... Picture_..." she counted quietly to herself.

"-Zuko!" shouted Aang, causing her to jump.

"Ahh! Aang?" The boy smiled and bowed playfully.

"You're missing Zuko, for one," he pointed out.

"I could have told you that!" Toph said from above, but Katara seemed to miss that fact.

"Oh, _him_! Yeah, I... knew that. Besides Zuko, I mean, is there anything we're missing? I want to be prepared."

"Did you decide if you were coming?" Toph asked Aang, who used the aid of airbending to leap onto Appa's head.

"Yup! Zuko talked me into it. He asked me to help, and I figured why not? I'm going to the Earth Kingdom anyway to visit Bumi and see if I can help out there."

"Me too!" Toph cried with glee. Aang laughed and joined in her excitement. Meanwhile, Katara was scratching her head, something that proved a lot easier to do since her hair was now free of any braids.

"So... Where is he? Does he even know we're ready? Did you tell him, Aang?" she asked. A guilty silence filled the air, and Katara narrowed her eyes.

"Uh, must have slipped my mind!" the all-responsible Avatar said with a nervous giggle. He jerked in fear when Katara scaled Appa and found himself inches away from her glare.

"_Aang_! He's probably not even ready!"

_If he wasn't so loveable I'd..._ She thought, and trailed off. She didn't know what she would do.

"I'll go find him!" Toph offered eagerly and slipped down Appa's back. She was relieved to feel her feet collide roughly with the solid ground. She took off running into the palace.

He had to do one thing before he left on his journey, and was in no hurry to leave until he took care of it. If one asked the servants, they would supply multiple sighting of a disheveled Fire Lord Zuko, wandering the hallways of the palace, disappearing for twenty minute intervals, sending people in and out of the palace. Soon it became clear that he was looking for someone.

Zuko knew what he was looking for. He finally stopped his search and gave up, breathing heavily in one of the numerous halls of the palace. It was then that the taunting, emotionless voice called to him.

"Looking for something? ... Or someone?" The Fire Lord whipped around; assuredly, the cold voice matched the cold, narrow eyes. Mai was lurking behind him with the same kind of gracefulness that told him she could leave as quickly as she came.

"You," he said directly.

"You said you wanted to ask me a favor," she said in her bored voice, coming no closer.

"I'm leaving today to find my mother. I don't know how long I'll be gone. I wanted to ask you to help with something... It's hard, but-"

"Cut to the chase," Mai demanded. Her ex-boyfriends eyes were hard, he was serious about this.

"Please, would you try to help Azula for me? I know she doesn't deserve help from any of us, let alone you. But I think... you, or Ty Lee are the ones that could break through to her. I think she actually _trusted_ you two..."

"We both betrayed Azula," Mai said coldly, and then a hint of a smiled turned on her lips. "You think Azula would accept help from _me_?" For some reason that he wished didn't exist, Zuko couldn't help but smile.

"It sounds crazy. But she's always hated me more than she hated you."

"Touching."

A more serious face, now. "I know it sounds crazy, but could you just talk to her? She might be... unstable at first, but maybe you could break through. Will you please do it? Please?" He was only going to ask once, he would not beg on his sister's behalf.

"I'll think about it." Coming from Mai, that could have meant anything. Zuko was betting it was closer towards a yes, and silently congratulated himself with the victory.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. Without returning the smile, and wandered off and left him alone. Looking down, and shadow stretched across the floor. He could see it growing in the light that spilled through the doorway.

"Hey, Hot Head! You ready or not? We'll just leave without you!"

Surprised, Zuko turned to meet the blank eyes of Toph.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The girl sighed and rolled her eyes deliberately. Why was it that whenever she talked to this goon, she had to ram the point into his head with a mallot?

"We're all _waiting_ for _you_!" She said slowly, then dashed back out the door. He followed her, cringing as the sunlight struck him fully in the face. Squinting against the sun, he thought that the weather offered a promising day. He was no less surprised when he saw all his companions already boarded the white bison.

Apparently today was a day full of surprises.

"You... You're already ready?" He asked. Toph was standing near Appa's feet, ready climb on.

"Well yes," Katara's voice said. "Aren't you? I guess _Aang _forgot to tell you we were ready." Behind her, Aang waved.

"I didn't expect to leave so soon. I was going to train a little first, to get ready," Zuko explained, a puzzled look flashing across his face. He put his hands on his sides, surveying the scene.

_It's like they want to find my mother more than I do,_ he thought ironically. Toph was quick to strut to his side.

"Maybe Sparky's right. We should have a good old training session, light old times. Like a warm up before we leave!" The others blinked.

"I don't see the rush," said Aang. Neither did Zuko; he had a switch in his head, and he hadn't quite flipped it to 'determined mode' yet. The morning was still young, and it was best to go prepared. All that was left was Katara, who shrugged helplessly. In one swift movement, Zuko gestured for all of them to hop off the bison.

"Slackers!" he said. "Come to the back of the palace. We're going to train!"

"I'm so relieved. This time it's not me you have to train this time. So much pressure... all off!"

"Hey, twinkle toes. Just because you don't have a world to save doesn't mean you're earth bending couldn't be better. But still, you're right." Katara joined in the talk.

"Yeah, isn't it Zuko that needs training the most now?"

Zuko blinked. He had no idea they would all turn on him so quickly. Aang, Toph, Katara and Zuko were under the mercy of the sun; the palace's backyard was divine, plenty of open space for training, but the once thing Toph neglected to build was a shade structure. A bead of sweat rolled down his neck, and he didn't even start training yet. The relentless sun caused him to strip off his shirt, Aang quick to follow.

"You ready?" asked Katara suddenly, poised to strike. The young Fire Lord tensed immediately when confronted with someone he considered a very formidable opponent.

"Just tell us when to go," Toph said, and Zuko's eyebrows shot in the air. _Both_ of them at once?

"Great, now I get to practice _all_ my bending at once!" Aang said.

"Wait a minute... The two of you _and _the Avatar? That's not fair-" Zuko began to say before a rising ridge of hard rock speeded towards him. Soon Zuko would learn to fear Toph greatly. Fire was powerful, it could slice through both water and air. Fire couldn't cancel out earth. Alert and springing into action, he dived to the side to narrowly avoid the hit.

"On your toes, Sparky!"

Without warning, and whip made of water lashed out at him. With a grunt, he thrust his fist in the air. A harsh ember of fire collided with the water, and disappeared both into nothing. His eyes locked warily onto Katara the water bender, hoping to analyze her fluid movements. He predicted another attacked as she coaxed a large amount of water from a nearby pond, drew it close to her, and caressed it into an odd shape. the spiraling disk of water spun in her hand, and he wondered why she attack.

While the water disk played on his mind, his body reacted to the newly formed boulders zooming towards his head as if they were mere pebbles. A strong burst of fire knocked most of them off course, and another ember managed to distract Toph. He ran the length of the yard to gain distance, but by the time his eyes alighted on Katara it was too late. He now noticed that she joined Aang, and the both of them were concentrating on their rapidly spinning disks of air and water. It pulsed.

The water flew towards him, propelled by the backbone of air that surged fowards. His hair whipped back, and he felt his feet leave the ground entirely. He flipped backwards once before pulling into a controlled ball, and releasing a wave of fire to protect himself from the water that was aimed to engulf him.

While the brunt of the attack had been curbed, he was still soaking wet.

They _had_ to pity him.

That, and laugh hysterically. Aang was the first to offer him a hand while they crowded around him, a hand that he refused bitterly.

"So what?" Zuko snapped. "I can't take all three of you at once."

"Why not? You used to do it all the time," Katara pointed out. Zuko fixed her with a glare.

"I don't know. You weren't as strong back then as you are now!" He was still angry, and they felt bad.

"Instead of fighting Zuko, why don't we work together? If a fight comes along, we're on each other's side," said Toph. Katara squinted at the girl beside her.

"Okay. Wasn't it your idea to attack Zuko in the first place?" With in innocent shrug, Toph ignored her.

Iroh watched with interest from his balcony as a fury of water, fire, air, and earth filled the air, and destroyed the back of the palace he worked so hard to make Toph build. Zuko came to him the night before and told him that he planned to look for his mother today, and he had no advice for him. He was taking his own path, and he couldn't have been prouder of his nephew.

Iroh watched the earth rise.

He watched the flames dance.

He watched the water twist.

He watched the air shimmer.

It was in a playful way that the flames danced, evading and taunting the streaks of water that whipped through the atmosphere. The water would always try to slice through the flames, wanting to engulf them. On contact, they melted away together. Despite this, it still continued.

It was odd, remarked Iroh, how one could tell so much from bending.

"Appa? Yip, yip!" Reluctantly the bison rose to it's six feet and took of finto the sky. The group was trying to settle on the mess of bags Toph carelessly tossed aboard earlier. Aang took the reigns with directions to head towards the Earth Kingdom, Toph was ready to fall asleep, and Katara was nursing her wound.

"I'm really sorry," Zuko said for the thirteenth time. He squinted over Katara's shoulder as she wrapped the angry red welt on her arm with bandages.

"I told you, it's okay!" she said. "We were training, what do you expect? I slipped up." He couldn't wipe the apologetic look off his face; the last thing Zuko wanted was to give any one of them reason to be angry at him. Although he knew he didn't have to worry about it, the old habit of being extra cautious stuck. She turned to him with a calculating look gleaming in her eyes.

"What about you?" He watched her scan him up and down, and looked at himself. So what if he had whiplash all along his arms and legs, it didn't mean she put up a good fight. And maybe he had some scratches on his face, those rocks barely left a mark. He must have spent more time reflecting on his injuries than he thought, since Toph said,

"Wow! Look at the view!"

He and Katara pitched themselves over the sides to get a glimpse of what she was talking about. It was nothing overtly special, just a collection of mountains and canyons.

Realization came to Katara first. "Very funny Toph." It was hard to remember she was blind.

"I thought it was," she said with a giggle. "Hey, someone's gotta be the comic relief around here since Sokka's gone." Nostalgia hit Katara's in the stomach as she thought of her brother.

"Hey, you really miss him don't you?" she asked Toph with a smirk. It satisfied Katara to watch the girl flush and hide her face in her arms as she pretended to go back to sleep. Speaking of sleep, the training really drained the energy out of her bones. A yawned turned into a definite decision of naptime, and she laid on her back with her eyes closed. Aang looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, you guys. We're entering into the cross section of a cold front and a warm front, just to warn you," said the boy, gripping Appa's reigns tighter.

"Translation?" Toph asked lazily from the spot where she buried her head in her hands.

"It's going to be a bumpy ride." As if on cue, Appa suddenly lurched forward, battered by the wind, causing them all jump. Inertia pulled them forward, and Toph rolled not so gently into the edge of Appa's saddle. Katara braced herself against the wind and managed stop from colliding into the side. She was too tired to care much, though, and remained were the wind blew her, hair splayed around her. Zuko was the only one, aside from Aang, that was fully conscious. He held a tight grip on the saddle's side, and rolled nowhere.

"Thanks for the warning," Toph said painfully, and proceeded to rest. Aang looked backwards at Zuko.

"I can tell you're tired from training, too. You can go to sleep, it's fine!" Aang assured him. "Except it might get bumpy." He held on hard to Appa as the bison dived suddenly under a dark cloud. Zuko stared at him.

"Okay," was all he said. He didn't want to make a commitment to sleep when he felt as if he was going to be pitched over the side of the bison and fall to his death. His eyelids said otherwise, and threatened to close. Involuntarily he began to slump against the small barrier that kept him from falling, until he couldn't distinguish dreams from reality.

Aang smiled to himself as everyone slept.

"Easy, Appa," he said, and peered ahead of him. "Oh man, it's going to get rough."

His eyes fluttered half-open, revealing a hint of the golden brown irises. All he could see was a ledge, and the sky. A sky full of dark and light clouds with orange underbellies, crisp air that seemed heavy. In a half conscious state of mind, Zuko was sure he was floating on a cloud.

_Dreaming... _he thought gruffly and closed his eyes again. A suddenly jolt caused his insides to jerk out of sync with the rest of his body, and he felt suddenly nauseous. Something rolled and thumped onto his chest. He could barely open his eyes. Another jerk. He felt it again, and there it stayed. Whatever it was, it was warm.

He looped an arm around the lump against him, absorbing it's smooth warmness. The cool night air grazed his arms and shoulders, but his chest and face was warm. With a yawn, he decided, even if this was a dream, he should probably see what this lump was. He opened his eys as far as they could go, which still wasn't very much.

Yeah, this was definitely a dream.

Because there was no way Katara would really be snuggled close, head on his shoulder and body on his chest. _Willingly_, anyhow. As far as he could see, which wasn't much since he didn't want to move, there were no ties binding them together. No, just her. She was sleeping, and warm, and pretty. He smiled, knowing it was a dream.

Another big bump rocked them, and he jerked and she pressed harder onto him. His back pressed against something sharp, he didn't know what, but he winced and quickly leaned the other way. _That hurt,_ he thought. _What is it?_

Then the realization and alarm was injected into his veins like a needle in his arm. _In dreams, you don't fell pain._ His eyes opened wider. _This doesn't feel like a dream. I'm on Appa on my way to the Earth Kingdom. I'm awake, now. This isn't a dream. And..._

Katara was still pressed against him, sleeping peacefully.

In this situation, he thought it best to slowly detach himself from her and pretend like it never happened. He was glad no one was awake to see the flaming blush that spread across his face, he knew because he could feel the heat. His eyes grazed the top of her head, then her face. She looked so peaceful, it might as well have been a dream. Her long hair trailed behind her, and the star light glowed on her face. He should have known, she looked to real to be a part of a dream. There was a glow, an essence about that no dream could mimic...

Then it happened again, the sudden bump that nearly lifted them off whatever they were resting on-oh yes, Appa's back. _Aang warned about this,_ Zuko thought clearly, but the worst happened. Katara began to stir against him, and her eyes twitched as if they were about to open. He closed his own hurriedly so he could feign sleep, and let her take care of the awkward situation. Seconds passed, and he daringly opened his eyes.

Through narrowed, confused eyes, she stared at him.

_"_Is this a dream?" she groaned, not intent on moving until she heard the expected answer. Zuko didn't know what to say. He didn't want her to move.

Her eyes widened as she painfully became conscious of what she was doing. Half of her body was leaning on him, her head was resting on top of him. He looked at her. Fiercely blushing, she pushed herself off of him, and cried out as Appa rocked again. It shook her off balance and she tumbled back.

"The rough part's over now, we just arrived in the Earth Kingdom," a sleepy voice called back. Zuko sprang to his feet and stormed over to Aang.

"Aang! You're about to fall asleep!" he said angrily. "You could have woke me up, why didn't you? You could have rested." Aang was very confused, and forfeited the reigns to the mysteriously angry Fire Lord.

"Now go to bed!" Zuko snapped.

"But we're almost there... Okay." Aang slumped and walked to Appa's back. Zuko guided Appa to the rough, wild ground below them. They were in no city, just a wild, barren area that Zuko thought they could camp out in without attracting much attention. He sat on Appa's head, allowing everyone else to sleep the night away. Safely alighted on the ground, it took awhile for his mind to clear enough to join them in the dream world.

**End of chapter? **You like?

I added more Zutara than I originally thought I was going to, so I hope you enjoyed that!


End file.
